Teen prodigy An Se Young inspired Korea to a 3-2 result over Chinese Taipei, which gave the defending champions top place in Group 1C of the TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019.

Ten-time winners China routed India 5-0 for top spot in Group 1D. Canada and Ireland finished on top of groups 2B and 3A respectively.

Chinese Taipei got off to a good start, with Wang Chi-Lin/Lee Yang decimating Choi Solgyu/Seo Seung Jae in 40 minutes.

Chinese Taipei would have anticipated a 3-0 lead, with their two strong singles players to follow, but Korea’s An Se Young threw a spanner in the works with her sensational upset of women’s singles No.1 Tai Tzu Ying, 14-21 21-18 21-16.

Chou Tien Chen expectedly gave Chinese Taipei the lead once again as he cruised to victory over Lee Dong Keun in men’s singles, 21-12 21-17.

Korea experimented with their women’s doubles pair, with Chang Ye Na pairing up with Kong Hee Yong, and the move worked well, as they stopped No.43 Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun.

It was left to in-form mixed doubles duo Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yujung to wrap it up for Korea, which they did in 37 minutes against Tseng Min Hao/Hsieh Pei Shan, 21-10 21-18.

India Blown Away

China completed their second whitewash in Group 1D, with India left to rue their missed chances of their first tie against Malaysia, which they lost 2-3. Today’s loss meant India’s campaign came to an end.

Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping put the hosts on track, taking just 28 minutes to clinch the mixed doubles against Pranaav Chopra/Sikki Reddy.

Sameer Verma gave a good account of himself against Chen Long in the men’s singles. The Indian played a clever game, creating opportunities at the net, and preventing Chen from imposing his pace. It was a long-drawn encounter, with Chen having enough in reserve to triumph 21-17 22-20.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty looked like they could reduce the margin for India, but were outgunned in the third by Han Chengkai/Zhou Haodong 18-21 21-15 21-17.

Chen Yufei was comfortable against a less-than-fully-fit Saina Nehwal (21-12 21-17), before Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan completed the rout for China.

Talking Point

“I think she defends and moves well, her stamina is good and she is tall. She has many advantages in several departments, so I think she will be an outstanding player in future.” – Vanquished No.1 Tai Tzu Ying on An Se Young.

Other Results

Germany took a 1-0 lead against Canada through Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Seidel in men’s doubles, but were pegged back in the next three matches.

Michelle Li (women’s singles), Jason Anthony Ho-Shue (men’s singles) and Rachel Honderich/Kristen Tsai (women’s doubles) gave Canada an unassailable lead before Lamsfuss/Isabel Herttrich reduced the margin for Germany in the mixed.

In the same group, Singapore finished third beating Israel 4-1. Misha Zilberman won the point for Israel with the closest margin of the session, beating Jia Wei Joel Koh 16-21 21-13 28-26 after saving two match points.

Ireland topped Group 3A with an all-win record, beating Australia 3-2. With the score at 2-all, Nhat Nguyen and Sam Magee gave Ireland the deciding point, beating Sawan Serasinghe/Eric Vuong 21-17 21-11.